Construction’s Insolvency Predicament: Cooper, Mainzeal and Reckless Trading
Second Prize winner the Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2020 Essay Prize Winner
New Zealand
The city’s breaking and everybody’s shaking climate change and the construction industry
Recommended for Publication Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2020 Essay Prize Winner
Considers the impact of climate change on be way we design and construction buildings and explores the policy implications for the short and long term with particular emphasis on insurance.
Timebars: the good, the bad and how to reconcile the two
Recommended for Publication Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2020 Essay Prize Winner
Discusses the benefits and disadvantages of timebars in contracts in relation to the prevention principle and risk allocation, and concludes that timebars are a useful tool but require careful drafting in order to achieve a best for project outcome.
Good time for good faith? Exploring the role of a duty to act in good faith in construction contracts
Recommended for Publication Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2020 Essay Prize Winner
Defines good faith and discusses the benefits and disadvantages of explicitly incorporating good faith in contracts, outlining the case for and against expanding its use and its relationship to time bars, and recommends some practical ways in which it can encouraged in NZ. A thought-provoking discussion, particularly in the context of the Construction Sector Accord.
Insurance Clauses in Construction Contracts
Presented at the Society of Construction Law 2019 Conference NZ Fundamentals of Construction Law – the project lifecycle
Builder Beware?
Recommended for Publication Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2019 Essay Prize Winner
This paper explores whether New Zealand courts and Construction Contracts Act adjudicators can and/or should recognise an implied warranty of buildability in construction contracts.
Do international concerns with the rule against implied warranties of buildability warrant a change in approach for New Zealand?
Where are my Retentions? Insights from the Ebert Construction Insolvency and Practical Advice for Subcontractors
Second place Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2019 Essay Prize Winner
Carlos’ paper reviews the framework for the regulation of retentions in New Zealand under the Construction Contracts Act 2002, with a particular focus on the insights to be gained from the high profile Ebert Construction insolvency. The paper also explores some of the options available to parties seeking to recover their retentions, and considers whether a failure to hold retentions on trust could lead to a breach of the duties owed by directors under the Companies Act 1993.
The Development of the Law on a Builder’s Duty of Care
First Prize winner the Society of Construction Law New Zealand 2019 Essay Prize Winner
The Engineer to the Contract: How the role evolved and the part played in dispute resolution
This paper covers the emergence of the ‘civil engineer’; the role of the administrator to the contract, and how the common law shaped the dual roles of the Engineer to the Contract so well known today. It will then consider by reference to common standard form contracts what the Engineer plays in the resolution of disputes.
It was accompanied by a presentation to SCL(NZ) members in February 2018.